


Summer In The Unknown

by Dajokn19



Category: Gravity Falls, Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon & Comics)
Genre: Gen, Illustrations, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-31 01:16:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21032048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dajokn19/pseuds/Dajokn19
Summary: Dipper and Mabel follow a mysterious map in the journal and find themselves lost in a place far stranger than Gravity Falls.





	1. Lost in the Woods

The rising sun shined through the pine needles of the remote forest surrounding the small town of Gravity Falls Oregon, chasing away the night with its radiance. In the bushes and under boughs of trees shadows still lingered in contrast to the bright blue and orange of the early morning sky.  
  
Dipper Pines stood on the run down porch of the Mystery Shack, dressed in his usual blue vest and shorts, and carrying Journal Number Three under his arm. The journal was his most precious possession and it hadn't left his side for the entire summer. The mysterious leather bound book was filled with hand written secrets, codes, and a record of every strange thing in Gravity Falls, and there were a lot of strange things in Gravity Falls. Twelve year old Dipper was ready for an adventure, inhaling the scent of a new day. The air was cool and crisp, heavy with the unmistakable scent of pine and morning dew, and pancakes. This was going to be a good day.  
  
“Hey Dipper come get breakfast!” his Grunkle Stan shouted from inside the shack.  
  
“Coming!” He replied walking into the kitchen. Plates of blueberry pancakes were set out on the table and his twin sister Mabel was already digging in. She was wearing a sweater like she always did. This one was bright pink and featured a unicorn standing in front of a rainbow, it was also covered in a generous amount of shiny glitter.  
  
“I'm going to town to set up some signs to attract tourists” Stan said grinning broadly at them as Dipper sat down to eat. “They're not gonna know what hit their wallets, what are you two doing today?”  
  
This was just the question Dipper had been waiting for, last night he had discovered something really interesting hidden on a page among the blank ones at the end of the journal.

He eagerly opened the book to a hand drawn but nicely detailed map of the woods. It showed paths, creeks, clearings, and caves, some of which they had already explored, and many that they hadn't. In the right top corner of the page the map stopped abruptly as if the original cartographer had erased a section of it.  
  
“See this right here?” he stated, pointing to the empty space “This is where we're going!”  
  
“But there's nothing there” Mabel mumbled, her mouth full of pancake.

“Just because it's not on a map doesn't mean it isn't there” Dipper corrected “The author erased that part for a reason, and I want to find out why”  
  
“It's a really long walk” Mabel sighed theatrically, “but I suppose we can go, since I've got nothing better to do...”

Dipper finished his pancakes quickly. “Lets go!” he said, picking up the journal and heading for the door. He grabbed his backpack and favorite blue and white hat as he walked out into the bright morning.

Mabel grabbed her backpack and ran out the door right behind him.

“Be back by sundown!” Stan yelled after them from the kitchen window.  
  
“We will!” Mabel promised as she headed down the path into the forest, towards the unknown.

Dipper and Mabel walked down the narrow forest trail side by side. The trees got thicker as they got deeper into the woods, the foliage cutting off the light from the sky and making it appear as if it was evening, although it was really afternoon.

“How much further?” Mabel asked Dipper, who had his nose in the journal, looking at the map.  
  
“We should be there around this next bend” he replied.

They turned the corner in the path which continued on as it had before, winding into the dark woods.  
  
“Well this is it” Dipper said “We should be right where the map was erased”  
  
“I don't see anything except more woods” Mabel said, sitting down on the small dirt path and pulling some snacks out of her backpack.

“Maybe we just haven't gone in deep enough” Dipper replied “come on, lets keep going”  
  
“Ok”

Mabel stood up and followed, eating a bag of gummy bears as she walked. The path became narrower and narrower as they continued, eventually disappearing in the the underbrush.

“Well that's the end, maybe there was nothing on the map because there isn't anything here”

“No, there was something there” Dipper said pulling out the journal and showing her the page “look the trees are erased right in the middle”

He was right, the blank spot was indeed right in the middle of where trees had once been drawn.

“Lets keep going”

“I don't think thats is a good idea” Mabel said uneasily, she was getting a little worried about the idea of walking through the woods with no path.

“It's ok Mabel” Dipper reassured her “I've got this”

He pulled out a compass and flipped it open. The small metal arrow inside indicated they were traveling north. “See, all we need to do is keep going north then go south when we are ready to head back, piece of cake!”

“Just don't get us lost” Mabel said

“I won't”

The two pushed on silently, elbowing their way through seemingly endless bushes as they made their way further into the forest.

“We should go back now” Mabel said after a while “Grunkle Stan said to be back before dark”

Dipper was starting to get discouraged, he checked the time on his phone, they had been walking in the blank spot for an hour now and there was nothing but more woods, no secret bunkers or lairs of magical creatures.

“Ok, lets go back, I guess whatever was erased from the map is pretty well hidden”

He pulled out his compass. “Oh no”

“What?” Mabel asked worriedly

“This says south instead of north, but that doesn't make sense, we were going in a straight line” Dipper replied, hardly believing what he was seeing. He couldn't say for certain that they hadn't veered in one direction or another, but he was sure they hadn't turned entirely around “It's like the magnetic poles just flipped! How can that be?”

“I don't know, maybe the forest flipped around?” Mabel speculated.

Dipper chuckled at the thought of an entire forest just flipping around, “I'm pretty sure we would have noticed that Mabel, there would have been a huge earthquake or something”  
  
“Well it makes more sense than the magnetic poles shifting!” She replied defensively.

“Actually the magnetic poles shift every two hundred thousand years, maybe that just happens to be today, it's called geomagnetic shift”

“Ok Mr Nerdypants, then how do you explain that!” Mabel pointed at a patch of sky through the tree branches “At least even I know the sun sets in the west!”

The light had shifted some time while they were walking, it was coming through the trees as a hazy orange yellow glow from the deep blue evening sky. The light was coming from in front of them, the south.

This took a moment to register with Dipper, but when it did all he could say was. “What?!”

If the poles had shifted, or if the forest had flipped around, maybe the sun would have set on their right, but not in front of them, “The sun doesn't set in the south, not ever”

He now felt completely lost, something was not right here. “This is weird Mabel” he said, panic beginning to creep into his voice.  
  
“You said you wouldn't get us lost!” Mabel said accusingly

“It's not my fault!” Dipper snapped back, “it's just more Gravity Falls weirdness”

“Maybe we can find the path if we go back this way!” Mabel said, turning around and pushing back through the bushes in the direction they had come from. Dipper followed close behind her.

Eventually the brush thinned out, revealing a dirt path with tall grass on either side, winding its way through the woods.

“See! Success!” She exclaimed throwing her hands in the air. “We'll be back in no time!”

Mabel skipped along down the path, leaving Dipper standing at the edge.

“Mabel come back!” he called running after her.

“What?” She stopped and turned around. “We found the path”

“This isn't the path” Dipper explained, “The path we took here was going towards us, not across.”  
  
“So we're lost?”  
  
“Yah”

The sun was almost set and the forest on either side of the path was dark under the shadow of the trees, only the path remained lit by the setting sun. Both twins stood silently for a while listening to the evening wind rush through the pine needles. A flight of crows flew across the path, cawing loudly.

  
  
“This is scary” Mabel said, sitting down on the ground and pulling her sweater over her head. Dipper sat down next to her, he had never been lost in the woods before and his mind was racing trying to remember how to start a fire. Shelter, first they had to find shelter.

“Come on Mabel” he said standing up and taking her by the hand. He gently pulled her to her feet. “We've got to find somewhere to spend the night, like a cave or something”

  
Dipper and Mabel continued down the path in the twilight. Dipper wasn't sure where he was going, but he was pretty sure they shouldn't stay out in the open, there were mountain lions and a whole lot worse in the woods around Gravity Falls.


	2. Not a Gnome

The weird south setting sun dipped below the horizon, leaving the path in darkness, and the stars began to twinkle into sight.

Ahead of a bend in the path came the sound of footsteps.

“Shhh” Mabel said “Did you hear that?”

The twins ducked into the tall grass next to the path, “What do you think it is?”

The footsteps grew closer and Dipper peeked over the edge of the grass, the tip of a red cone bobbed up and down around the bend. “It's gnomes!” He said tensely.

“Don't let them get me Dipper!” Mabel whispered frantically

Dipper felt around in the dark for a stick, he wished he had leaf blower handy, but this would have to do. He found a sturdy branch as the footsteps drew near their hiding place.  
  
“Leave my sister alone!“ Dipper shouted, jumping out of the tall grass brandishing his stick.

“Whoa!” A lanky dark haired boy stumbled back from him, tripping and falling. He was older and taller than Dipper, wearing a blue cape and a pointed red hat.

“You're not a gnome” Dipper said lowering his stick.

“No, I'm Wirt” the teen said, standing up and brushing himself off “who are you and what did I do to your sister?”

“Nothing” Dipper said “I'm sorry, I thought you were a gnome”

He held out his hand “I'm Dipper Pines”

“Nice to meet you Dipper Pines” Wirt said shaking his hand. “I'm Wirt, and it is Greg”

He looked around but the path behind him was empty.

“Greegg!” Wirt shouted exasperatedly into the darkness. “Where are you!”

A small child stepped out of the grass next to the path. He was chubby and wearing baggy green overalls that made him seem even rounder. A large shiny teapot was balanced upside down on his head.  
  
“Greg? What did I tell you about wandering off like that! You could get lost!” Wirt scolded him.

“Who's this!” Greg said ignoring his big brother and focusing on Dipper.

“I'm Greg” he said running up to him “And this is my frog” He pulled out a large bullfrog from inside his overalls and stuck it in Dippers face.

“Ha ha, that's great buddy” Dipper said taking a step back. Mabel came out into the open next to him.

“Hello!” She said, shaking hands momentarily with Wirt and turning immediately to Greg. “You're so cute! What's your frog's name!”

“His name is Jasper” Greg replied

“I thought you said his name was Clarence” Wirt said

“Well it's Jasper now, Clarence was boring”

“If you say so”

“Why are you dressed like that?” Dipper asked Wirt

“Well uh, I'm not really sure. I just am I guess” Wirt replied “you don't look like the sort of people we usually find around these parts either”

“We're lost” Dipper said “we're trying to get back to Gravity Falls”

“We're lost too!” Greg chimed in “we need to go back where we came from”

“Where did you come from?” Dipper asked him, Gravity Falls was the only town for miles.

“I don't know”

“How can you not know?”

“We never do” Greg said with a mysterious affect.

“What does that mean?”

“We just go around and around and around “ he said spinning in circles “looking for where we came from, but nobody knows where it is.”

“I don't know where Gravity Falls is either” Wirt told Dipper “But I do know there's an inn up this road”

“Oh goodie!” Mabel said “We won't have to sleep in a cave! Lets go!”

The four of them set off through the dark woods up the trail, Wirt and Dipper walking in front and Mabel trailing behind keeping an eye on Greg. Streamers of twinkling white stars shone in the night sky, the moon was full and cast enough light for them to see their way as they walked along.

Dipper watched the stars intently, almost bumping into Wirt a couple times. He tried to make out any constellations or astronomical features he recognized, Orion's Belt, the North Star, and, of course, the Little Dipper. He couldn't find any of them, it was like he was standing in an entirely new world.

The blank spot on the map had definitely been a portal of some kind.

“Where are we exactly” he asked Wirt

“In the Unknown” Wirt replied, “or at least that's what Greg and I call it, since we don't know where this is and we are probably never going to get back to wherever we came from, so it's just the Unknown I guess”

They rounded a corner in the path and out in the distance, in a clearing in the woods, was a large thatched house made of beams and plaster walls. A warm orange glow shined from inside the windows, and white smoke wisped from the tall brick chimney into the moonlight. _There's nothing like this in Gravity Falls_, Dipper thought. It looked like something out of a storybook, it was pretty cool.

“I love it!” Mabel exclaimed “Look how old-fashiony it is Dipper!”

“Yah, it's awesome!”

They hurried eagerly down the stone path towards the inn. A din of voices came from the other side of the tall oak door.

Wirt pushed it open the door to the inn, revealing a room full of at least a dozen men and women. They were dressed sharply in collared shirts and trousers held up by brightly colored suspenders. The women wore dresses and bonnets of various sorts, and all were merrily chatting as they drank ale from large wooden cups.

A hot fire burned in the massive stone fireplace in the back of the the room as a servant in an apron hurried dishes to and from a door next to it. A flight of rustic stairs ran up to the second story.  
  
“Come on in young'ns” Said a portly red faced man with a handlebar mustache seated nearest to the door. He stood up wobbly, clearly somewhat drunk.

“I'm Tomas, the proprietor of this establishment!” he guffawed, wiping his hand on his trousers and holding it out.

Wirt hesitated for a moment and then shook his hand. “My friends and brother and I need a place to stay for the night”

“Well you came to the right spot! Settle in and make yourself at home!”

He showed them to a table in the corner of the room and they sat down, tired from walking.

“I'll fetch you something to eat” Tomas said, leaving towards the kitchen.

Dipper pulled his phone out of his backpack, the battery was getting low and it still read no bars. “Darn it”

“What's that?” Greg asked

“A cassette player?” Wirt guessed, raising an eyebrow.

“It's a phone” Dipper said confused “you don't know what a phone is?”

“I've got one too!” Mabel added, pulling out her phone, which was wrapped in a bright pink case decorated with heart stickers.

“Of course I know what a phone is, but that doesn't look like any phone I've ever seen” Wirt said, leaning across the table to get a better look “where does it plug in?”

“It doesn't” Dipper replied “have you really never seen a cell phone before?”

“No, and I don't think we're likely to come across any phone lines around here”

“Wait a minute!” Dipper said with sudden realization “What year is it?”

“It's nineteen eighty, but I don't see...” Wirt paused for a second “what year do you think it is?”

“Twenty thirteen” Dipper replied

The two boys stared at each other dumbfounded.

“You're from the future!” Wirt exclaimed, a broad smile lighting up his face

“And we're in the past” Dipper said, “but how?”

“So that block thing is a phone.” Wirt continued “What does the thing on your forehead do?”

“Oh, uh, nothing… that's just a birthmark” Dipper replied, brushing his hair down over his forehead self-consciously.

“Do you have a flying car!” Greg asked

“No, we don't have a flying car”

“What about a robot!” Greg jumped of his chair and started walking stiffly around the table “boop beep beep boop”

The other patrons began eyeing them curiously.

“No, I don't have a robot”

Greg climbed back up on his chair and looked Dipper straight in the eye. “Then you must be the robot” he pronounced solemnly.

“What? No! How does that even make sense?”

“I don't make sense” Greg said.

“Can see that”

“I don't think he's a robot Greg” Wirt assured his brother.

Tomas returned carrying a tray with plates of bread and cheese, four cups, and pitchers of water and ale.

“Here you go young'ns” he said putting it down on the table. He pulled a large old key out of his pocket and handed it to Wirt “Y'all's room is the first door on the left, we can settle up tomorrow morning”

He walked back to his stool by the door and plopped down, waiting for more guests

“He seems friendly” Mabel said “I'm so hungry from all that walking!”

Wirt handed out the plates and poured a glass of water for Greg and himself a mug of ale.

“Aren't you too young to drink?” Dipper asked

“I don't think anyone here will care” Wirt explained “otherwise why would they give it to us?”

“Well I've always wanted to try it” Dipper said, pouring himself a mug.

“I'll have some too!” Mabel chimed in.

“Uh, Mabel...I don't know if that's a good idea” Dipper replied

“What? So you guys can do it and I can't?? We're the same age you know!”

“It's just”

“Just what? A 'guy thing'?”

“Well no, I guess not..” Dipper conceded

“Then give it here!” Mabel said snatching the pitcher and pouring the rest of it into her mug.

“You two... are twins?” Wirt asked between bites as they all began eating hungrily.

“Yes we are, but I'm taller” Mabel answered

Dipper looked annoyed and took a big gulp of ale. “It tastes like soda, but bitter”

Wirt and Mabel took a drink as well “Yah” Wirt added “It tastes weird but I kind of like it”

“Everything looks so dreamy” Mabel said

“It sure does” Dipper agreed as the room started to seem farther away. He had been anxious before but was relaxed now. “I wonder what percent alcohol is in this...”

“Quiet with that nerd stuff...” Mabel replied “lets just enjoy ourselves, at least we're not lost in the woods anymore”

“No we're just lost in time in a different world with no way to get back home, we could be stuck forever Mabel” He was surprised at how little the thought disturbed him right now.

“But if we weren't lost we wouldn't have found Wirt and Gregory”

“I'm not Gregory! I'm Greg!” Greg said adamantly

“You are Gregory, you just don't know it cause everyone calls you Greg”

“No! I'm Greg!”

“Yes but you're also Gregory”

“No!!”

“Mabel you're arguing with a four year old” Dipper sighed “By the way what does Wirt stand for?”

“Wirt, lol, that's a funny name” Mabel said

“It's not funny” Wirt replied with an exaggerated melancholy “but that won't stop everyone from laughing at me anyway”

He took a long drink. “what's lol?”

“It's just a thing we future people say” Dipper said “it's like pretend amusement in a sarcastic sort of way”

Greg pulled his frog out from inside his overall pocket and set him on the table. “You're name is lol now” he stated. The amphibian stared back at him blankly.

The room was quieting down and Wirt was beginning to feel sleepy. He was glad they had met Dipper and Mabel. Of all the strange things he and Greg had seen in the Unknown he had never expected to come across a boy from the future who was lost here the same as him. “Why can you remember where you came from and we can't?”

“Huh?” Dipper was busy studying the carved woodwork depicting corn and jack o'lanterns in the beams on the ceiling.

“Why can you remember Gravity Falls?” Wirt repeated “I can't remember anything about how we got here, I just know we got here somehow. But you can remember exactly how you got here.”

Dipper looked down from the ceiling. “You're right!”

“How did you get here, exactly?”

Dipper reached into his backpack and pulled out the journal. He showed Wirt the map.

“We went looking for this spot” he said pointing to the blank space.

“That's Gravity Falls?” Wirt said looking over the map. “It looks kind of like here”

“There's all sorts of awesome things there” Dipper said flipping through the journal, “Zombies, I accidentally summoned a bunch of those once, monsters, gnomes, and lots of other stuff.”

“I can see why you thought I was a gnome” Wirt said as Dipper flipped to the page about gnomes.

“I'm going to sleep” Mable declared, pulling her sweater up over her head and leaning down on the table. “Don't talk about gnomes”

“We should go to the room” Wirt suggested, finishing the rest of the of his ale and standing up. “Whoa, I didn't know it would make things spin this much” He grabbed onto the table to steady himself and slowly walked towards the stairs after regaining his balance.

Wirt, Dipper, and Mabel walked upstairs towards their room, with Greg and his frog following close behind.

The hallway above featured many carved wooden doors decorated with engravings of jack o'lanterns and corn, same as the rafters on the first floor. The orange light of the single lantern in the middle of the hall shined eerily off the smooth wood, making the figures seem to dance.

Wirt pulled out the key and opened the first door on the left, inside was a small plain room with a carved wooden bed and straw mattress covered with blankets and several pillows, a basin and pitcher stood in the corner next to a worn chair. A round window above the bed let in the light from the full moon.

“Well sure beats a cave!” Mabel exclaimed running over to the bed and flopping down on it.

“You and Mabel can have the bed” Wirt told Dipper, “Greg and I can sleep on the floor. Is that ok with you Greg? “

“Yes” Greg yawned as Wirt took off his cone and laid down under a blanket.

Dipper put he and Mabel's backpacks by the door along with his hat, shoes, and vest. Greg was curled up cuddling his teapot like a stuffed animal.

The four dozed off, tired from walking and ale.


	3. The Shadow Bandit

The next morning Dipper woke up from a strange dream where he was being chased by pumpkins through a cornfield. For a moment he had no idea where he was. Mabel was sleeping soundly next to him and the first light of the rising sun peaked through the round window into the room, leaving a beam in the dusty air. Dipper sat up, the events of the previous day coming back to him.

Wirt and Greg were still asleep on the floor. “I've got to start writing all this down” Dipper said to himself jumping out of bed, a portal to a new world, a strange old inn, kids from another time wearing cone hats, this all had to go in the journal.

He walked quietly in his socks between Wirt and Greg over to his backpack and zipped it open.

The Journal Number Three was gone.

“Oh no, no no no!” he yelled pulling open every pocket in the backpack. He turned it upside down and shook it. Pens, notebooks, binoculars, rope, duct tape, flashlights, dirty clothes, disposable cameras, and the enlarging flashlight all fell to the floor in a heap, but no journal.

Wirt and Mable sat up, awakened his yelling. “What is it!” Wirt said, putting on his cone and rushing to Dipper's side.

“The journal is missing!” Dipper crieby d “It's our only hope of getting back home!”

“Where did you see it last?” Wirt asked

“Last night when I showed it to you, before we came upstairs.. did you lock the door?”

Wirt looked uncomfortable “No.. I must have forgotten.. I was dizzy from the ale, I'm sorry!”

“Maybe there's a clue somewhere around here” Dipper said examining the area around the door “like a footprint or something”

Greg was awake now and going through Dipper's stuff. “People from the future sure have cool things, what does this do?” he asked holding up the flashlight with the enlarging crystal on it.

“Greg that's not yours put that down!” Wirt demanded.

Dipper snatched it from him “That's dangerous!”

Mabel was slowly getting out of bed, holding her head. “Oww” she groaned “What are you two nerds being so loud about?”

“Mabel someone took the journal!” Dipper said frantically

“Oh no! We have to find it Dipper! How are we going to get home?”

“Is this dangerous?” Greg chimed in, holding a pair of binoculars.

“No Greg, that's not dangerous, can you quiet down I'm trying to think!” Dipper snapped.

“What about this?” Greg asked handing Dipper an envelope made of heavy paper and sealed with black wax.

This was definitely not his.

“Greg I think you found a clue!” Dipper said

“What does it say?” Wirt asked.

Dipper broke the seal and pulled out a small piece of paper. On it, written in large ornate letters, were three words.

_The Shadow Bandit_

“The Shadow Bandit” Dipper read, “that's who was in our room last night! He must have taken the journal”

“What's the shadow bandit?” Mabel asked

“I have no idea” Wirt said “But maybe the innkeeper will know”

Dipper re-packed his backpack and the four headed downstairs. Tomas the innkeeper was tending to the fireplace, scooping out the ashes from the night before. A pair of old women in fancy dresses were eating breakfast and comparing knitting.

“Excuse me!” Dipper asked the innkeeper.

He turned around “Well hello young'n, up already? What can I help you with?”

“What can you tell me about this?” he asked, handing him the letter “we found it in our room this morning, and he took my journal, it's made of leather and about so big...”

“The Shadow Bandit was here! Oh my! I've got 'o check the silver!” Tomas interrupted and rushed hastily into the kitchen to count spoons.

“He's a fool that one” Remarked one of the old women “Imagine the Shadow Bandit want'n silver!”

“You know about him?”

“I do indeed” she said “He comes not to steal silver, no, he's after something much more valuable, he's after what makes you remember”

“Remember what?” Mabel asked

“Why anything, but especially those things that matter most to you”

“He took my husband's portrait” the second woman added “I can barely remember what he looks like now”

“But why?” Dipper asked

“Oh nobody knows darling, but it's said he lives off the memories of others. Whenever you forget something he gets stronger, and if you look into his eyes you might just lose your mind entirely”

“I don't like the Shadow Bandit” Greg said, looking scared and hugging his frog tightly.

“Sorry, but we have to get going” Wirt said and pushed Dipper and Mabel quickly towards the door of the inn.

“Thanks for your help!” Mabel called back to the ladies as Wirt ushered them out the door onto the small stone path leading to the main road.

The morning was clear and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The sun was not too hot yet and it was the best time to get on their way.

“What's the big rush?” Dipper asked Wirt

“I don't have any money” Wirt said “and the innkeeper was going to be back any minute, we should get going”

“I've got some money” Dipper said pulling out his wallet, there was ten dollars in ones and fives inside and a trio of quarters. “Do you think he'll take this?”

“The only money I've ever seen here in the Unknown is coins” Wirt replied, “and I've only had a couple of those”

“But then I threw them in a well” Greg added, “But it was ok, cause we were going to steal more of them from a rich guy...”  
  
“Greg!” Wirt interrupted him “Don't tell them that!”

“Well I'll go give him these at least” Dipper said pulling out the quarters “It doesn't feel right to dine and dash after he was so nice to us”

Dipper headed back inside with the change.

The innkeeper was still cleaning out the fireplace. “There you are young'n, I was beginning to think you had up'n left on me”

“This is all we have” Dipper said handing him the quarters, “I hope it's enough”

To Dipper's surprise Tomas's eyes bulged as he looked at the coins in the palm of his hand. “Enough! This is more than enough young'n, it's far too much! Three pieces of silver! My word! I can give you change for one of them.”

He handed two of the quarters back to him and retrieved a small bag of coins from the kitchen. “Here you go, twenty pieces of copper”

“Thank you!” Dipper said rushing back outside. The other three were on the path waiting impatiently for him.

“Now can we go?” Wirt asked

“Check this out!” Dipper said handing him the bag of coins “It turns out silver coins are really valuable here”

“We're rich!” Greg shouted

“Shhh, quiet Greg” Wirt cautioned “someone might hear us”

Wirt hid the bag under his cape and the four kids went on their way, not knowing where they were going but heartened that their luck was beginning to turn.

“So what was that flashlight in your backpack and why is it dangerous?” Wirt asked Dipper as they walked along.

Dipper pulled his backpack onto one shoulder and reached inside, retrieving the flashlight.

“See this?” he said pointing to the crystal “It's magic, this side makes things bigger” he flipped it over “And this side makes things smaller”

“Wow! Where did you get it? “

“I found the crystal in the woods in Gravity Falls”

The trees on either end of the path gave way slowly to small brush and grass as the edge of the forest receded out into the distance.

“Wirt” Dipper proposed, “What if the reason you can't remember where you came from is because the Shadow Bandit took your memories?”

“But then why don't I remember the Shadow Bandit?”

“Maybe he took those memories too” Mabel said “Maybe that's why no one has ever caught him, they can't remember what he looks like”

“You're right Mabel!” Wirt said, brightening up “Maybe all we need to do to find out where we came from is to find the Shadow Bandit and get our memories back”

“To catch the Shadow Bandit!” Wirt shouted, punching his fist in the air and picking up his pace almost to a run. “and get our memories back!”

“Yes! To the Shadow Bandit!” Greg chimed in, running up next to him, “Then we can go home!”

“Boom mystery twins!” Mabel exclaimed, giving Dipper a fist bump. “You're cute when you're excited” she said to Wirt.

Wirt blushed “I, I'm not..”

“Of course you are” Mabel chuckled “Even if you do dress like a gnome”

_This better not be the start of crush _Dipper thought to himself as he caught up, Mabel's crushes never ended well.

The road rose and fell over rolling hills and the morning was beginning to get uncomfortably hot.

“Where are we going” Dipper asked Wirt

“I don't know” the older boy admitted, “But something usually turns up if we keep an eye out”

“Wirt! Wirt!” Greg yelled tugging on his brother's cape

“Yes, what?”

“Can we go to the circus?”

“What circus?”

Greg pointed out towards the horizon “That one there”

Wirt squinted in the direction Greg was pointing, sure enough the peaks of tents brightly striped with red, orange, and blue poked up over the crest of a hill a far distance off the road, barely visible under the glare of the sun.

“Good eye Greg!” Wirt said, patting him on the back.

Dipper pulled out his binoculars and focused them on the distant tents. “You're right! That is a circus! Maybe we can find someone there who knows how to find the Shadow Bandit”  
  
“Lets go!” Mabel said, heading off the road towards the tents. The rest of the group followed eagerly.


	4. Comic Crowd

As they got nearer lively circus music came into hearing and the smell of popcorn and hotdogs floated across the air, making them all hungry.

Over the hill was a number of the large striped tents they had seen from the road. Between the tents were small booths selling everything from popcorn to unusual clothes and attractions and games of various kinds were laid out in a haphazard manner. The air was filled with the shouts of the carnival barkers as they advertised their wares to the crowd.

A large number of people crowded around the area, moving in and out of the tents, buying things from the booths and playing the games. Balloons of all shapes and sizes floated in the air.

“Wirt look clowns!” Greg exclaimed as they surveyed the scene.

“Yes Greg,” his brother replied, “A lot of them! They're all clowns!”

In fact the entire crowd seemed to be wearing something clown like, face paint, over-sized shoes, colorful wigs and red noses.

“What?!” Dipper and Mabel said at the same time.

“But if they're all clowns, where are the guests?” Dipper wondered aloud

“Only one way to find out” Mable said “Go ask them Dipper”  
  
“Mabel, don't you think this is a little creepy”

“Yah, that's why I want you to do it silly!”

“I'll go ask them!” Greg volunteered, abruptly running down the hill. He tripped and began rolling sideways down the grassy slope towards the crowd, is teapot bouncing along after him.

“Greg are you ok! Come back!” Wirt shouted running down the hill after him holding his cone.

“Well at least those two won't have any problem fitting in” Mabel remarked as she and Dipper watched the pair reach the bottom.

“Yah, they are pretty unusual aren't they, I wonder how long they've been lost here in the Unknown”

“Well either way Wirt's still cute”

“He's too old for you Mabel” Dipper sighed

“Oh, you mean like Wendy is to you?”

“That's different!”

“Really Dipper” Mabel said seriously “How is it different, I mean really?”

He could think of a comeback Mabel had already headed down the hill after Wirt. “Whatever” Dipper muttered going down after her.

When they reached the bottom Wirt and Greg were speaking with one of the clowns, a tall one dressed in a striped suit that made him look even taller and wearing white makeup.

“This is Dipper and Mabel” Wirt said as they walked up

“Nice to meet you!” the clown replied squeaking his nose. “You're just in time for the big show, it'll be starting in an hour inside the big top” He indicated the largest tent in the center of the circus. “We'd really like you all to attend!”

“That sounds amazingly fun!” Mabel said, “I'm there for sure!”

“But we were meaning to ask” Dipper interrupted “Everyone here is a clown, where is everyone else?”  
  
“Well of course everyone here is a clown! Who do you think circuses are for!”  
  
“It's just that, where we come from the clowns are part of the circus and everyone else goes to see them”

“It used to be that way here too” the clown said sadly, “But then fewer and fewer people showed up from the outside, now it's just us clowns.”

“Aww that's too bad” Mabel sympathized

The clown pulled and exaggeratedly large handkerchief out of this sleeve and blew his nose. “Never mind me though, you go enjoy the circus”

“Will do Mr Clown!” Mabel walked off into the crowd “Come on guys! Don't make him sad”

The boys waved good bye to the clown and followed Mabel into the circus, delicious smells wafted through the air.

“Don't forget we're here to find out something about the Shadow Bandit” Dipper reminded everyone.

“I want cotton candy!” Greg whined, grabbing Wirt's cape and pulling him in the direction of a cotton candy booth.

Wirt pulled out the bag of copper coins and gave Mabel a couple “Can you keep an eye on Greg for a bit, Dipper and I are going to see if we can find someone who knows about the Shadow Bandit”

“Yes of course I can!” Mabel said cheerfully “I'll take great care of him, don't worry about a thing!”

“Thanks”

“Anything for you my handsome Wirty ” Mabel responded

“Lets all meet at the big top in an hour” Dipper said “Be careful Mabel”

“I will!” she promised as she took Greg by the hand and headed towards the cotton candy.

“See you later handsome Wirty!” Greg called back.

“Great” Wirt said to Dipper under his breath “Now he's gonna call me that forever”

The two boys were soon deep in the crowd, looking for anything that might be a lead on the Shadow Bandit

“What are we looking for?“ Dipper asked

“I don't know exactly, but I guess we'll know it when we see it, that's why we call it the Unknown”

They scanned the booths as they walked and the clowns stared at them as they passed. _Something still doesn't feel right here_, Dipper thought _I hope Mabel and Greg are ok_

  
“Maybe she can tell us about the Shadow Bandit” Wirt said tapping Dipper on the shoulder and pointing out a small dark tent adorned with colorful with beads. An old wooden sign outside read

_The All Seeing Alli May_

_Come See Your Fortune_

The two boys stepped through the bead curtain into the dark foyer of the tent. The sound of the carnival outside seemed unnaturally faded by the thin barrier as it closed behind them.

Their eyes adjusted to the dark, revealing a curtain leading to the rest of the interior.

“Come in” A thin voice called from beyond.

“Maybe this isn't such a good idea” Dipper whispered to Wirt, but Wirt ignored him, brushing aside the curtain. The fortune teller's room inside was lit by a number of small candles suspended from the ceiling of the tent, casting everything inside in a dim light.

A small round table covered in dark cloth stood in the center of the room, flanked by two wooden stools. A young woman was seated in a dark armchair, wearing a bead head dress and entirely too much jewelry, which jingled as she stood up to greet them.

“I am Alli May, the all seeing, the all knowing, I can tell you your destiny, your..” She paused mid-speech.

“Oh!” she exclaimed with a look between astonishment and relief “You're not clowns!”  
  
“Hello Alli May” Wirt said “I'm Wirt, and this is Dipper”

  
  
“Hi” Dipper added, “I'm so glad you're not a clown either”

“Well outsiders, let us see what the future holds” She replied, gesturing for them to take a seat and resuming her place behind the table. As they sat down she pulled out a large stack of ornate tarot cards and laid three of them out face down.

“Actually, we were hoping you could tell us something about the Shadow Bandit” Wirt asked.

“Why do you wish to know of such things?” Alli May replied, her smile darkening into a frown “That is a dark path”

“I think he's the reason my brother and I can't remember where we come from”

“And he stole my journal!” Dipper interjected “Why has no one ever caught him? Where does he hide? What did he do to the journal?”

“One question at a time little Dipper, first Alli May must read your fortunes”

Dipper slouched in his stool with a scowl on his face, instinctively brushing his hair down over his forehead. He hated being called 'little dipper', _had she known? _

“Please pay very good attention” Alli May requested, turning over the first card. On it was a chess rook surrounded with fire.  
  
“A burning rook” she explained, “It signifies that a place you rely on is in danger”

“The Mystery Shack?” Dipper asked worriedly. Instead of answering the fortune teller overturned the second card, on it was a unicorn standing beneath a tree.

“The unicorn, a very good sign. There is some magic, good magic, in your future.” She said quickly and reached for the third card.

As she picked it up there was another underneath. Alli May looked confused for an instant, the card was blank except for a single eye, staring out from the paper with an odd intensity.  
  
“There are usually three” she said apologetically “let us place this one aside for now”

She placed the extra card on the edge of the table quickly, as if it were hot, before reaching for the final card. On it was a picture of the moon, surrounded by stars.

“The night. It signifies patience” Her voice was growing inexplicably tense

“Please tell me, what message do you see in this? Quickly please, heed the message” She continued, almost begging.

Dipper studied the cards intently, a burning rook, was the Mystery Shack in danger? A unicorn, good magic, and the night, patience. Rook, Unicorn, Night. Rook, Unicorn, Night.

“Wirt!” Dipper said glancing over at him, one look told him he had seen it too.

“Go now!” Alli May burst out “Before it's too late!”

Wirt sprang up, dropping his cone and knocking over the stool as he scrambled for the curtain “Greg! I should never have left him!”

Dipper ran out after him, his heart pounding, _Mabel was in danger_. He passed the curtain and hands grabbed him from behind, before he could turn around a hood flew over his head, there was a sharp blow, and then black.


End file.
